Dáil set to rise for summer recess

The Dáil is due to rise for its nine-week summer recess this evening after dealing with three final pieces of legislation including the Criminal Justice Amendment Bill.

Both Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore are expected to again demand the Oireachtas sits longer this year to deal with the recession and a backlog of legislation.

The Opposition parties have criticised what they branded the frequent use of “guillotines” over the past few weeks which capped the amount of time allowed to debate new laws, as the summer holidays approached.

While most elected representatives will take their extended break next week, some will continue to sit on parliamentary committees for the remainder of July.